Companies from New Zealand donate fruit and milk to vulnerable children in Vietnam

The donations benefited recipients at Operation Smile in Ho Chi Minh City, the VinaCapital Foundation, Blue Dragon, and Maison Chance.

This year marks the first time New Zealand’s dairy producers have joined the campaign, adding milk to the donations of fresh fruit

New Zealand's Ambassador to Vietnam Tredene Dobson said, "I am delighted to see how an initiative to aid Vietnamese people during the pandemic has evolved into an annual programme that benefits local communities, particularly those who are underprivileged."

"The New Zealand Embassy is pleased to continue assisting its fruit and dairy exporters, who generously provide nutritious and fresh products to support vulnerable children and women in Vietnam. This small yet impactful gesture demonstrates our genuine concern and commitment to improving the wellbeing of the country's population," she added.

New Zealand consul general and trade commissioner Scott James said, "Over the last three years, this great initiative has provided an opportunity for companies from New Zealand to share their exceptional produce with under-served communities here in Vietnam."

“It’s a tangible and heartening demonstration of New Zealand exporters deepening their engagement and relationships with the Vietnamese community and coming together to make a difference,” he added.

This is the third consecutive year that New Zealand's fruit businesses have donated their produce in Vietnam. The scheme has expanded each year since its inception in 2021, when five companies donated apples and kiwi fruit to eight Vietnamese hospitals, their staff, and their patients during the lockdown in Ho Chi Minh City.

The following year in 2022, seven of New Zealand's fruit exporters donated 10,000kg of fruit to five children’s and women’s charities in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi.

This drive was supported by the Be Strong Vietnam Campaign that was launched by the Song Foundation and the New Zealand Embassy in Hanoi.